MISTAKEN IDENTITY OR FRAUD?
In October 2015, Stefanie Ratcliff, director
of compliance for ACA International
member company RGS Financial Inc.,
contacted ACA about the company's
experience receiving calls from consumers
with complaints about threats of arrest and
wage garnishment from "RG Financial."
RGS Financial received eight
complaints from consumers through the
CFPB's Consumer Complaint Portal and
five complaints to the Better Business
Bureau as a result of the other company's
reported actions.
Since then, Ratcliff said she has made
some headway in resolving the complaints
that were not about RGS Financial when
she learned about the correct response
categories available for companies receiving
a complaint through the CFPB's database.
"It ruins your brand and your reputation
when you have those types of complaints
associated with your company," Ratcliff said.
CLOSED WITH
NONMONETARY
RELIEF
CLOSED WITH
EXPLANATION
CLOSED
In fact, she connected with the CFPB's
Office of Consumer Response after
posting a message with her questions
and experience on ACA's online member
community, The Hub.
Overall, Ratcliff said the CFPB's
Consumer Complaint Portal is userfriendly for registered companies, however
the guide with response categories could be
a little clearer.
According to the CFPB's Company Portal
Manual, the minimum required elements of
a response from a company when it receives
a complaint include:
* Steps you've taken to respond to the
complaint, including details from
the response, a description of your
communication with the consumer,
and copies of all responsive written
communications to the consumer.
* Communication from the consumer
in response to the steps you've taken to
address the complaint.
CLOSED WITH
MONETARY RELIEF
DUPLICATE
CFPB
CASE REPORTED
CFPB
COMPLAINT
PORTAL RESPONSE
CATEGORIES
IN PROGRESS
ALERTED CFPB
SENT TO
REGULATOR
"If a company suspects
fraud, including
business identity theft
or scams, it should alert
the bureau and the
consumer of the
suspected fraud."
* Follow-up actions or planned followup actions.
From there, companies have several
options to categorize their response,
including two crucial categories: "Incorrect
Company" and "Alerted CFPB."
When RGS Financial received complaints
as a result of the actions of another
company-"RG Financial"-Ratcliff selected
500,000
Company responses to
complaints through the CFPB
Consumer Complaint Portal
REDIRECTED
TO RELATED
COMPANY
98%
Of consumers get timely
responses from companies
through the portal.
INCORRECT
COMPANY
COLLECTOR 02.16
25

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